Black Jasmine

Chapter 2

"Wake up, miss!" The shrill voice startled Jasmine out of sleep. She opened her eyes and sat up to see a small woman with pink curls and glasses. "Good morning! I'm Meyrin, here to help you get dressed." She went to the wardrobe and opened it to reveal the dresses. "Let's see... Now, which color would you prefer?"

Jasmine rubbed an eye tiredly, then looked at Meyrin questioningly. "Uh...for what, exactly?"

"For your dress of course!" She grinned happily as she pulled out a few dresses. "Lady Elizabeth made sure that we had plenty of dresses of all kinds, in case something like this were to happen."

Jasmine stared at the maid with an unreadable expression. "Oh, well in that case..." Jasmine looked over the dresses, then picked up a beautiful blue and white one. "This one."

"Oh, lovely, that one is!" Meyrin exclaimed excitedly. She rushed the others back into the wardrobe, then turned to Jasmine with a smile.

"Now then, let's get you ready!" Jasmine's eyes widened slightly, and not too long later she was wearing a full gown, corset and all. Meyrin curled the short pieces of hair that framed Jasmine's face, and put the rest of it up in a braided bun. "Oh, miss, are you going to wear your glasses?"

Jasmine picked up her glasses and sighed. "These are much too damaged to be worn... I'll just have to go without until I can find a way to repair them."

"Oh. Right, you're all done then." Meyrin smiled. "Come on, let's go see Sebastian now! He'll be glad to know you're ready to go, or at least as glad as he gets-"

"Go where?" Jasmine asked as Meyrin pulled on her arm, leading her out of the room.

"Oh, you're going to visit the undertaker! It's for this case that Master Phantomhive has been working on- oh, right! You're on it too, aren't you?! Sebastian said you were a part of it."

Jasmine sighed and ran her free hand across her face. "Yeah, I am."

Meyrin pushed her through the hall. "They're right down here, miss! Just down the corridor and in that first room there."

Jasmine looked back at her in surprise. "You aren't coming with me?"

"Oh, heavens no! I've got work to do!" Meyrin stated, then smiled and waved as she headed back down the corridor. "Remember, first door!"

"Right..." Jasmine said nervously, continuing down the hall. "Um...first door?... On what side?!" She muttered to herself as she reached the end of the hall. Timidly she stood there, unsure of what to do. "What do I do?" She whispered to herself desperately. "Open one? Knock? But which door?!"

"I certainly hope you don't intend to stand there all day." Jasmine spun around to see a young boy with an eyepatch that was just a little shorter than her. In the room behind him stood Sebastian. "We have work to do."

"O-oh," she stuttered, both embarrassed and relieved as she mustered a small curtsy. "Master Phantomhive, if I am not mistaken?"

Ciel's visible eye narrowed. "Don't act as though you don't know who I am. Sebastian told me." He said simply, walking past her. He barely turned his head to say, "Don't lag. Let's go." Jasmine stared for a brief second, then hurried forward to follow him. She stayed silent all the way to the courtyard, and even as Sebastian offered his hand to help her into the carriage after Ciel had gotten in. Now sitting across from Ciel, Jasmine stared out the window of the carriage. "It's strange," Ciel said suddenly, making her jump. Jasmine turned her head to see him staring out his own window. "You look very much like Elizabeth."

Jasmine chuckled slightly. "I'm told that a lot."

Ciel turned to look at her, an expression of shock on his face. "You know Lady Elizabeth?"

Suddenly Jasmine realized her second slip-up. "Oh- uh, not exactly, but... I've seen her. I'm told I look a lot like her, blonde hair and all." She smiled halfheartedly.

Ciel looked unconvinced, and turned to look back out the window. "Your eyes are wrong."

Jasmine stared at him in surprise. "Pardon?"

"Your eyes." Ciel said blankly, still staring out the window. "They change. They aren't the same green as Lizzy's, and when they are it isn't for long."

Jasmine stared at him, then smiled softly to herself. "Indeed they do. However, I never knew how frequently they changed until just recently."

Ciel was silent for a moment. "It's quite fascinating." He muttered simply, and the rest of the trip was spent in thoughtful silence. At last the carriage came to a halt and the door was opened to reveal Sebastian. "I assume you'll have to make him laugh again." Ciel stated, his voice laced with irritation.

"Naturally, I assume." Sebastian said pleasantly as Jasmine climbed down from the carriage, partially fighting her skirts and corset. Noticing, Sebastian smirked slightly to himself. "Would you like some assistance?"

Jasmine looked up in surprise as she finally set foot on the ground. "Oh- I'm alright. I'm just not used to wearing a corset..."

Sebastian beamed a seemingly innocent smile as he said, "Clearly."

Jasmine barely had time to form a glare before she had to pick up her skirts again to follow them to the door. "Sebastian," Ciel said simply and Sebastian knocked on the door.

No answer.

Ciel and Sebastian shared a look, then Ciel gave a nod and Sebastian knocked again. Again there was no answer. Sebastian opened the door and called into the dark room. "Undertaker?" Entering with Ciel and Jasmine close behind, he called again. "Undertaker!" As if in response, a slight rustling came from the inside of one of the coffins. Sebastian opened the lid. "Oh, there you are. Who's this with you?" He asked simply, sounding surprised. As Jasmine approached, she saw two figures cuddling.

"Laura?!" Jasmine exclaimed in shock. Sebastian and Ciel stared at her.

"Wait, you know this girl?" Ciel asked, a little skeptical.

"Well, yes..." Jasmine said uneasily.

"Interesting," Sebastian said, looking back at Laura who was now running a hand over her face angrily.

"You guys are so loud," She mumbled sleepily. "Undertaker, make them shut up."

"With pleasure," Undertaker said just as sleepily and he reached for the lid.

"I don't think so," Sebastian smiled, moving the lid out of Undertaker's reach. "We need your assistance."

"No," Laura mumbled. "I need his assistance." She cuddled him. "So go away."

"Laura, get up." Jasmine said darkly. "We need to solve this case so I'm not falsely accused and arrested."

Laura opened her eyes and turned her head slightly to look at Jasmine. "Arrested?... Wait- Jasmine?! You're here too?!" Laura struggled to sit up and stared at her friend. "How? What happened?!"

"I don't know!" Jasmine exclaimed. "How did you end up here?"

"Oh, well...I kinda woke up in a coffin."

Jasmine raised an eyebrow. "...what?"

Laura turned in her sleep. Her attempt to get comfortable failed as she hit her head on the side of the wooden box she was in. She groaned, and at the same time she heard a muffled voice above her. The coffin moved, and suddenly a light burned her retinas as the lid was removed. "Well this is no good. This one still lives!" The voice was disappointed.

Laura squinted at the person standing above her. "Where...am I?" She mumbled, unsure if anyone could comprehend her. As her vision cleared, she realized that she recognized the person standing above her. "Wait- Undertaker?!"

"That's what people call me, yes." He said with a giggle.

Laura squealed, jumping up and practically launching herself at him for a hug. "Oh my gosh, I can't believe it's you! I've been hoping to meet you for the longest time!"

"Is that so?" He asked with a crooked smile. "I wish I'd known such a pretty girl was looking for me. I would have gone to you." He stood her up straight, holding her wrist to help her balance. However, when he took a step back, he tripped on the corner of a coffin and fell in, accidentally pulling Laura in with him.

"Well... This is cozy," Laura said, laughing slightly, sounding tired.

"I could make it even cozier." Undertaker smiled suggestively.

"How?" Laura asked, a little worried at what he might say or do.

"Like this." He said as he pulled the lid over the top of them, closing them in.

"Well, this is much cozier." Laura giggled, snuggling into him. She quickly fell asleep.

"Well, that explains how you ended up with Undertaker." Sebastian stated.

"Yes, but how did we get here?" Jasmine asked, exasperated.

"What do you mean?" Ciel asked impatiently.

"You ended up here because you're a witness." Sebastian stated unhelpfully.

Jasmine sighed, hanging her head. "I'm crazy. I've just absolutely snapped." She said quietly with a sigh. "Laura, have you snapped?"

Laura shrugged. "Possibly. But we already knew that." She cocked her head to the side. "Hey, where are your glasses?"

"Broken," Jasmine sighed.

"Oh, that sucks." Laura said unsympathetically. "Have fun with that."

Jasmine rolled her eyes. "Yeah, thanks."

"Sure thing, buddy." She smiled, giggling slightly as she got up out of the coffin. "Come on, Undertaker."

"Aww, she moved..." Undertaker said a little sadly, sitting up as well. "Oh well, I guess it's time for work. Now, what is it you need this time, master Phantomhive?"

Ciel was surprised. "Don't you want us to make you laugh first?"

Undertaker shook his head. "Usually I would require it of you, but this time I'll let it fly."

"Oh, that's kind of you." Ciel said slowly, as if he wasn't sure of what he was saying.

"Of course, that's because I got enough laughs from the pretty one you found with me."

Ciel looks annoyed. "What can you tell us of the two bodies that were found hanging this morning?"

"Oh, the skinned ones?" Undertaker asked giddily. "Those were much fun putting back together! I couldn't thank the killer enough-"

"That girl was found by them." Ciel stated matter-of-factly, silencing the Undertaker.

"Was she now?" He asked curiously, looking at Jasmine who was telling Laura about her experience.

"I woke up in the middle of a crime scene, not long after the killer had left but not soon enough for the police to have been there." Jasmine was saying rather calmly. "Literally, right in front of me were two hanging bodies, skinned like meat for harvest. I was drenched in the blood."

Laura's eyes widened. "What even?! How-why?!"

Jasmine shrugged. "It was sickening to wake up to, but under normal circumstances I would've loved to take on the case, simply because the killer must have some skill. To be able to pull off a stunt like that, skinning these two men and hoisting them up as high as they did, it takes quite the amount of strength. The victims weren't exactly small-bodied, either."

Laura nodded in agreement. "Wait, what did you say?" Ciel asked suddenly.

"Huh?" Jasmine asked, caught off guard.

"About the men, what did you say?" Ceil repeated.

Jasmine looked confused. "They had to of been pretty well built. I mean, the muscle alone was thick, and the bodies were about six feet...did I just give us a lead?" She asked suddenly as she reflected back on what she said.

Ciel didn't answer. "Let's go."

"Okay..." Jasmine said slowly. "But, before we go- could I see the bodies?"

Ciel stared at her, perplexed. "Why would you want to do that?"

Jasmine shrugged. "I'm into forensics."

Ciel rolled his eyes in evident irritation. "You threw up the first time you saw them."

"Well yeah, I had just woken up. Besides, I want to see what they looked like before their flesh was removed." Jasmine turned away from Ciel to look at Undertaker. Hey Undertaker, will you show them to me? I want to see how well you did putting them back together."

Undertaker grinned. "I'll gladly show you my latest work of art." Undertaker opened a coffin and gestured for Jasmine to see. "This is the first one. Now figuring out which set of skins matched what body proved to be a challenge, but I enjoy a challenge every now and then to save me from the boredom of making the same old stitches."

Jasmine peered in at the corpse, narrowing her eyes to see better. "I sure hope they don't plan on having an open casket. You can see the seams."

Undertaker frowned. "You saw how they were before I fixed them up. Besides, their skins had to be sewn back together after having been shredded like that."

Jasmine looked up at Undertaker for a moment, then she bent over the casket even farther. "Wait, what are you-?" Ciel objected, but Jasmine responded in a muffled voice before he could finish.

"Indeed, they were shredded." Jasmine climbed back out, rubbing an eye to loosen the strained muscles. "You wouldn't have guessed it at first look, but the skin was shredded in an odd pattern." She went over to the second casket and looked inside, coming close to the body again as she studied it. "This one, too. The stitching is so subtle-"

"Of course," Undertaker said with a proud grin, and Jasmine continued.

"-that you can barely tell the pattern." Jasmine narrowed her eyes at Undertaker as she finished, then turned to Ciel. "Master Phantomhive, I implore you to look."

Ciel rolled his eyes with a huff, but consented to look, walking over and peering into the casket. Looking in, Ciel's eye suddenly widened. "S-Sebastian!" He called almost frantically, shocked.

Sebastian was immediately there, staring down at the corpse. "Yes, it does seem to be the same pattern indeed."

Jasmine looked at them in confusion. "Same pattern...as what?" She asked slowly, unsure if she wanted to know the answer.

Ciel only sighed in response. "It's none of your concern." He turned away briskly. "Come on. We have somewhere to be."

Jasmine wasn't surprised by his abruptness. Bowing her head to him for a brief moment, she turned to Laura. "I'll see you two later. I assume our work with you isn't quite done."

"Oh, you'll be seeing a lot of us for sure." Undertaker smiled, hugging Laura from behind as he spoke. "We'll be coming to the young lord's estate later tomorrow, if you don't mind the wait."

"What's the wait?" Laura asked, looking up at him.

He grinned. "Just some business we need to catch up on."

"We?" Jasmine repeated, rolling her eyes. "I assume you are referring to your little cuddle puddle with Laura. Very well, I'll be off then." She waved her hand as she turned to the door, nearly walking into Sebastian. "Yes, I'm coming." She said before he could ask, and he simply held open the door for Jasmine as she went out to the carriage.

"I have somewhere to be," Ciel said simply. "We will leave you at the manor with the others, then be back later tonight."

"Alright," Jasmine said almost unsteadily.

They finally got to the manor and Sebastian opened the door for Jasmine. "Meyrin will show you around, you only need to ask." He said with a small bow.

"Thank you," Jasmine said earnestly and curtsied. "Safe travels to you both." Sebastian sat behind the reins once more and the carriage disappeared into the distance. Jasmine sighed to herself and hesitantly entered the estate, only to be jumped on by a man covered in mud. Well, not exactly a 'man'.

"Pluto! You're getting it everywhere!" Meyrin whimpered at the demon dog, who now had Jasmine pinned to the ground while he sniffed and licked her face. "Pluto!"

"Plu-Plu, that's not polite!" Finny objected as he easily pulled Pluto off of Jasmine. "I'm terribly sorry, he usually only gets this excited when Sebastian comes home."

"Well, he was home," Jasmine said as she wiped mud and slobber off her face. "He and Master Phantomhive went somewhere."

"Oh, they did?" Finny asked curiously, then realized that Jasmine was still on the ground and offered to help her up. "Sorry, we didn't mean to have Pluto here push you over."

"Oh, no, it's quite alright." Jasmine smiled. "I don't mind bathing, anyway. Besides, I love dogs." Pluto rubbed his face against hers, making her giggle.

"That's wonderful!" Finny beamed. "Sebastian hates dogs, but Pluto adores him-"

"Hey, what made you say he was a dog?" Bard asked suddenly, sounding gruff.

"Oh- well, he is." Jasmine shrugged simply. "He's a demon dog..." Crap, another slip.

"How can you tell?" Bard asked in shock.

"Um...it's kinda... Complicated?" She said uncertainly, then smiled and shrugged. "Maybe I can explain later. Right now, let's just get him into a bath."

"Wait, you mean you'll help us?" Meyrin asked in surprise.

Jasmine nodded. "Of course I'll help. It's not like I've got anything to do anyway." She smiled again and followed the others into the washroom. Come on, Pluto!" She called, and he ran happily after her.

"Wow, he really likes you!" Finny said happily as Jasmine fit the jacket around Pluto's shoulders.

"He may even like you almost as much as Sebastian!" Meyrin said, appalled.

"There's no way he can love anything as much as Sebastian." Bard said doubtfully. "Although I have to admit, he does seem to like you a lot."

Jasmine smiled shyly. "I've just always been good with animals."

"Even demon ones?" Finny asked curiously.

"Yeah, how did you know he was a demon, anyway? Did somebody tell you?" Bard asked in surprise.

"Yeah, I don't remember telling you!" Meyrin exclaimed.

"So then, who told you? Finny?" The chef looked over at Finny accusingly.

"It wasn't me!" Finny objected suddenly. "Maybe... Sebastian?"

"Yeah, it must have been Sebastian!" Bard agreed loudly.

"Right, Sebastian!" Meyrin concluded.

"So then, who told you? Was it Sebastian?" Bard demanded again.

"Oh- well...no, I just..." Jasmine stopped then smiled through her nervousness. "Well, I guess there are some things that I just know."

"Oh," Finny said in surprise.

Meyrin asked in surprise, "How do you know?"

Bard nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, is there some way to tell demons apart from humans?"

"Well, there can be." Jasmine said as she finished adjusting the jacket and had Meyrin tie Pluto's tie. "It just depends on the demon. But you can't always tell... It's usually rather simple for me, but that's for many reasons."

"Like what?" Finny asked curiously.

Pluto pulled at the tie, and Jasmine fixed it. "Well...I'm not sure how to explain it." Jasmine said simply. "I guess it's something that you might need to figure out over time."

"Oh," Finny looked disappointed. "Okay."

"Well, now that he's dressed," Sebastian startled everyone as he spoke, having just entered the room. Pluto perked up when he saw him. "Why don't you take him for a walk?"

"Why don't you?" Jasmine suggested with a smile, and Sebastian looked down at her in surprise. "He loves you, so I'm sure he'd enjoy going on a walk with you."

Sebastian, taken aback, suddenly smiled again. "I have much too much work to do. Finnian, would you mind?"

Finny looked happy. "Of course not, Sebastian!" He smiled at Pluto. "Come on, Plu-Plu!" Pluto smiled happily and followed Finny out of the room, and Pluto was followed by Meyrin and Bard.

The moment they were gone, Sebastian glared down at Jasmine. "What are you?" He demanded suddenly, startling Jasmine.

"W-what?" She stammered.

Sebastian's eyes narrowed. "What are you, that you can tell a demon from human? You're no angel," he stated with contempt, his red eyes glowing.

"You don't know that." Jasmine said sassily, putting her hands on her hips. "I could be an angel, or a reaper, or even another demon. There's no telling, really-"

"Not a demon," Sebastian said suddenly, towering over her. He pushed her against the wall, his eyes changing. "But a half demon, perhaps?"

Taken completely by surprise, Jasmine stared up at him until she got her bearings and responded unsteadily, "Not half, exactly, but partial?.. Well, I guess I could be, but not directly. Half, I mean..." She trailed off as he stared down into her eyes, and she felt as though they were clutching her very soul. "That's very unsettling, you know..."

Sebastian grinned. "Yes, I know. Actually, that's the point." Jasmine shrank back. "You should really watch what you say around them. They don't always know when to keep their mouths shut." He released her and backed away, his eyes back to their usual red again, and he smiled his usual, charming smile. "Supper is ready, if you would follow me." Jasmine nodded dumbly, head spinning from what had just happened. There was a lot to take in, but she knew that tomorrow would only be even more eventful. Yay.